by Tia Siren
When the elevator dinged and stopped moving, I shook my head. Why was I even thinking about the logistics? This was all a joke anyway. I carried the flowers to my small dining table and centered them before leaning over and inhaling the lovely fragrance.
The man was smooth. He had always been a bit of a smooth operator, but clearly the years had refined his skills. That was not my type. I hated guys who relied on their good looks and charm. They usually ended up being snakes. I couldn’t imagine how Brad was still single. Maybe he’d already run through all the women in Los Angeles.
I grabbed a plate and dished up my dinner. I chose to sit at the table, wanting to be near the beauty of the flowers. I used my phone to turn on the surround-sound music system in the condo, lit some candles, and poured a glass of wine. I loved my life in New York. No way was I going to move for him.
Once I finished eating, I grabbed my phone and headed for the bathroom. I was going to sink into a luxury bath and wash away all my worries. I considered taking the flowers with me but quickly reminded myself they were part of a game. A game I wanted no part of. The man had broken my heart once. I couldn’t give him the chance to do it again.
I sank into the tub loaded with fragrant bubbles. The candles flickered all around me, creating a soothing atmosphere. I took a drink from my wine glass before picking up my phone to send him a quick text.
Thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful.
His response was almost instantaneous.
Just like you. What are you doing right now?
I smiled. If the man only knew. I felt a little daring and decided to tell him exactly what I was doing.
Bubble bath.
I closed my eyes and luxuriated in the scent of strawberries emanating from the bubble bath. My phone chirped. I smiled when his reply demanded I prove it.
I popped my toes above the water. My painted red nails looked bright against the mountain of white bubbles surrounding them. I took a picture, making sure he could see the candles around the tub. Once the picture was sent, I put the phone down and concentrated on the music streaming through the speakers. I had recently stumbled onto Yo-Yo Ma after a date had taken me to one of his concerts. It wasn’t usually my taste in music, but I had fallen in love. I had thought only old people listened to symphony music. Either I was officially old or I had developed a little culture.
My phone chirped several times, but I ignored it. Brad needed to take a step back. Bath time was all about me. It was a luxury I rarely got to enjoy. Persistent chirping from my phone had me finally reaching for it, though.
There was a series of emojis ranging from mad faces to praying hands. He wanted more pictures. I laughed. He wasn’t going to be getting any nudes from me. I wasn’t going to risk being on the cover of Page Six as the fashion columnist who’d been hacked and had my naked ass splashed all over social media.
I silenced my phone and enjoyed the rest of my bath. Brad was going to have to do something much bigger if he wanted me to take him seriously. The flowers were nice, but that did not make up for his eleven-year absence from my life.
Chapter Eleven
Brad
I did a few stretches in my apartment before taking the stairs to the lobby. Jaxon finally agreed to get his ass out of bed and hang out for a bit. We were heading to the gym to play basketball. He refused to go surfing with me. According to him, I was a show-off. I didn’t think I was a show-off, but I was good at it. Surfing had become my favorite pastime since I’d moved to LA. I was too close to the ocean not to learn. Plus, I loved being outside. Anything I could do to get in a good workout while having fun outside was at the top of my list of things to do. Lately, surfing had taken the place of chasing women and sex. I had a lot of free time on my hands these days.
“Hey. Thought you would call and say you weren’t going to make it,” I said when I saw Jaxon already in the gym shooting baskets.
“I’m here and you’re late.”
We got right to playing a little one-on-one. I sucked. My mind was not on the game. It was on Mia and those pretty little red toes that I knew were attached to a wet naked body. My brain had been stuck on her and the idea of her being nude for days.
“What the hell?” Jaxon grumbled when I missed an easy shot.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. My head just isn’t in it.”
“Obviously. What’s wrong with you?”
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. You’re still hung up on that New York chick, aren’t you? You’ve been acting off for over a week.”
I considered denying it, but there was no point. It was painfully obvious. “Yes,” I muttered.
“Holy shit, man. She’s got you hooked. Who is this girl?”
I rolled my eyes. “I told you, someone I used to know.”
He shook his head. “I’m calling bullshit. This is much bigger than an old fling. You are sprung.”
“She wasn’t a fling. She was a very good friend. My best friend, really.”
He nodded his head slowly. “Sounds like it’s a bit more than that.”
We sat down on one of the benches. I waited a few minutes before I told him the real story.
“Wow.”
I laughed. “Yes. I guess that’s one response.”
“Wow,” he repeated. “Really? You really want to get married? You don’t even know her. What if she is just messing with you? You dumped her. This could be her revenge.”
I shook my head. “I do know her. She isn’t like that. Plus, she keeps telling me no.”
He looked at me like I had three heads. “What the fuck? Why are you chasing her if she doesn’t want you? She’s told you to get lost and you’re still pursuing her from three-thousand miles away?”
I let out a long sigh. “Yes.”
“Maybe you should think about finding a girlfriend. A real one. There are plenty of good women I could hook you up with. Don’t rush into marriage. You’ll just end up losing half of everything you have,” he warned.
“Not with Mia. She has plenty. She wouldn’t want anything from me.”
He chuckled. “You really don’t know women. You piss them off, cheat on them or whatever, and they have you by the balls.”
“I’m not going to cheat on her. Plus, we both agreed we would have an open marriage if our sex life wasn’t satisfying,” I said, feeling confident we had covered all the pertinent details.
“Yeah, right. Like that is ever going to happen.”
I shrugged a shoulder. Jaxon wasn’t going to talk me out of it. Obviously, Mia could turn me down, but I was going to make it difficult for her to do that.
“I want to get married,” I said. “I want to have a family and feel more settled in life. You have to know that feeling. You can’t tell me you are truly happy jumping from one bed to the next.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think I have ever wanted the family thing. Not yet. I still got time.” He grinned. “But I don’t think I am made to be with one woman for the rest of my life.”
“Because you haven’t found the right woman yet.”
Jaxon laughed. “Brad, I’ve met a lot of women. A lot of pretty, successful, smart women, and none of them have made me think about putting a ring on her finger and making babies. It just isn’t in my DNA.”
“Well, I feel like I need that in my life to make me happy. I want Mia. I’m going to grovel at her feet and beg her to have me.”
He groaned. “Man, you don’t have to grovel. There are about a thousand women right this minute who would be your bride and give you babies.”
I shrugged. “I want Mia.”
“Fine. More power to you, but don’t you think you should actually get to know the woman before you decide she’s the one you want to marry? Eleven years is a long time. She could be totally different,” he said.
“That’s what we’re doing: chatting and flirting, getting to know each other again. She thinks I’m joking about the pact, but I’m not. I ju
st need to convince her she wants me. Shouldn’t be too hard.” I winked. “I’m a catch.”
Jaxon burst into laughter. “If only you had some self-confidence.”
“Let’s get out of here. I need the water. I can’t be locked up in a gym.”
Jaxon groaned. “You always make me look bad when we’re out there. You’re an overachiever. Simply being toned would do, but oh no, you’ve got to take it a step further and be all hard and tanned. It’s really kind of embarrassing.”
“You are bad, and you could get a tan if you stopped hanging out in bedrooms on your days off,” I quipped.
“Thanks. That really makes me want to go hang out on the beach with you. The women act like you are some Adonis. It’s kind of insulting. Maybe you could keep your shirt on, give me a chance,” he said.
I slapped my bare chest and washboard abs. “I work too damn hard to cover this up,” I said with a grin. “The public should not be denied my awesomeness.”
“I hate you.”
“Will you be my best man?” I said, wrapping my arm around his shoulders as we walked out. I was taller than him by several inches, which was another point of contention with him.
“No.”
“You know you want to. I’m sure Mia will have hot bridesmaids.”
“No.”
“Thanks. I knew I could count on you.”
We parted ways in the parking lot. I made him promise not to stand me up. I loved to tease the guy.
We met at my favorite spot and headed out for a day of surfing. It was nearly five by the time we finished for the day. Jaxon had spent most of his time on the beach, flirting with women and getting a stack of phone numbers. I realized then he really wasn’t ready to settle down. He was a consummate bachelor. If that made him happy, so be it.
I was dog tired when I strolled through the doors of my building. I was about to head into the elevator when the night watchman waved me over.
“Mr. Jones!”
“What’s up?” I asked, dragging my tired ass toward him.
“This was delivered for you,” he said, holding out a box with Amazon Prime tape on it. I didn’t think I had ordered anything, but maybe someone at the station had.
I took the box, looked at it, and noticed it was from New York. Mia had sent me something. I listened to the box to make sure it wasn’t ticking or leaking anything gross. It seemed innocent enough. I smiled, thanked the man, and headed for the elevator. I couldn’t wait to see what she had sent me.
I rushed to my door and ripped open the package the second I was inside. I pulled out something flat and rubber.
“What the fuck is this?” I muttered.
I flipped the package over and realized it was a blow-up doll. I burst into laughter when I pulled the note out of the package.
“Her name is Judy. Maybe she’ll marry you?” the note read.
I shook my head, laughing at the woman’s sense of humor. That was the Mia I remembered. She gave as good as she got. I was already thinking about what I would send her in return. I opened the package and nearly took out an eye when the damn doll inflated in my hands.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, planted my lips on the doll’s cheek, and snapped a selfie.
Jealous?
I sent the single word with the picture.
I tossed Judy on the couch and went in search of food. I was starving. I looked at the cold beer in the fridge and debated it for a second before grabbing one and popping the top. I took a long drink and let it roll down my throat before looking in the fridge again to see what I had to eat.
Beer was a splurge for me. I worked too hard to let a beer belly sneak up on me. I pulled out a veggie dish and popped it in the microwave before heading into my room to change. I threw on a pair of sweats and headed back out to the kitchen to grab my dinner. My phone was flashing, indicating I had a message.
Mia was quite the comedian. She pointed out the many features of my Judy doll, providing graphic images in case I wasn’t sure.
I thanked her for the help. Normally, I would hate sitting home alone on a Saturday night. Tonight, I didn’t feel alone. I had Judy after all and Mia on the other end of the phone. I was comfortable sitting on the couch in a pair of sweats and watching television.
Flipping through the channels, I found some stupid old-school sci-fi show and put it on. It reminded me of something Mia and I would watch just so we could make fun of the horrible acting and terrible special effects.
After finishing my dinner, I settled in with a pillow, stretching out on the leather couch. Mia and I continued to text back and forth. It was late. I was happy to know she wasn’t out at some swanky club or on a date with another man. She was at home, curled up in bed and watching TV as well. After a lot of prodding and begging, she finally told me she was watching her favorite reality show. I made fun of her. She deserved it.
My day on the waves was catching up. I kept dozing off only to be woken by a text from Mia. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to go to bed. It was only ten, but I was beat. I sent a sweet text telling her I was going to bed and would text her first thing in the morning.
Her response was a sleeping emoji. It was enough. It was hard to imagine a stupid little yellow face making me so happy. The simple emojis were all I needed—for now. I had to see her soon. She hadn’t asked me for any specifics of my trip. I knew she didn’t believe I was actually going to do it. I was. I wanted to surprise her and sweep her off her feet.
Chapter Twelve
Mia
Helga waved at me from across the restaurant. It wasn’t like I hadn’t noticed her sitting next to the window wearing the massive black sunglasses that told everyone she was someone important. I gave a slight wave and weaved my way through the tables to make my way to her.
“Good morning, Helga. You look fabulous this morning. New?” I asked, taking in her glitzy green jacket.
She smiled. “Yes. I promised Karen I would wear it. You know, free publicity and all that,” she said, waving her hand as if it was a chore to wear designer clothing.
I sat down at the table and nodded my head, pretending to understand her plight. “I think it’s very nice. Is it the fall line? I don’t remember seeing that.”
She shook her head. “Couture.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Would it be bad if I ordered a mimosa?”
I giggled. “You’re the boss. You can do anything you want.”
She sighed. “I wish I could, but I better not. I’m sure I’m supposed to set a good example and all that nonsense. So, tell me, how have you been? Your mom told me you have a new man in your life.”
Leave it to my mother. “I don’t know that he’s really in my life.”
“Oh, I hear a story. Tell me everything!” she squealed.
Now I needed a mimosa. “It’s really no big deal, Helga.”
She shook her head. “Nope. It is. Please tell me.”
I drew in a long breath and told her the short version of my story. She was smiling and nodding as I spoke.
“That’s it? You haven’t seen him?”
“No. I really think he’s just playing games. Nothing will come of it.”
She looked at me as if she could see into my soul. “I think something will come of it, and I think you want it to.”
“No! I don’t. I can’t. I mean, it’s silly. It’s a joke.”
“What if it isn’t? Can you imagine? A real marriage pact. Here I thought those things had become out of fashion.”
I laughed. “They are out of fashion because they rarely work. We don’t have to marry to save our country.”
She shrugged a dainty shoulder. “I think it’s romantic. Is he handsome?”
“He used to be. I haven’t actually seen him for eleven years.”
“You haven’t looked him up? Come on, you have to have Facebook stalked him a little,” she teased.
I blushed. “I’ll admit I used to.”
“But you haven’t r
ecently?”
“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about him until he called me completely out of the blue.”
She nodded. I could tell she wanted to say something.
“What?” I asked. “I know you have an opinion. Please, tell me. I could use all the advice I can get.”
“In that case,” she said with a huge smile, “I think you need to give this a chance. I can tell you used to love him, and those feelings seem to be rising to the surface.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I can trust him.”
“That’s always the risk. That’s what makes love so special. When you take a risk, you gain great rewards. Love lost and all that bullshit,” she said in a whisper.
I giggled at her cursing. Helga was usually very ladylike. It was part of her image. When she slipped up, it was always funny.
“I don’t know if I want the risk. You can’t go back. I’m not the same girl, and I know he isn’t the same. At least I hope he isn’t. Our more mature, adult selves may not get along quite as well as our younger, more carefree selves.”
“Or you might.”
I smiled. “Yes, there’s that. I’m not going to worry about it. It’s all a lot of harmless flirting. He has a busy career on the West Coast. I have a busy career here. Neither one of us is going to pick up and move our lives. But I’ll admit it’s kind of nice to have someone who at least pretends to want me.”
“I bet it is. This is that fun part of a relationship, the early beginning where everything is fresh and new and you can really enjoy it all. I love young love,” she said wistfully.
I wasn’t sure that was what it was, but I could admit the idea of young love and a new relationship was exciting. I had to guard my heart, but that was easy to do when I didn’t have to worry about ever seeing him. I could flirt and tease via text messaging and relaxed about it all. If he were to show up, though, things would be very different.
“We’ll see. This is all a lot of harmless flirting right now,” I told her.
She wasn’t listening or didn’t care to. “When he shows up, I have to meet him. He sounds like a lovely man.”
